Controversial topics for Biden’s final speech to Congress revealed

US President Joe Biden will deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidency on Thursday evening, giving the incumbent Democratic chief of staff an opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he prepares for a rematch against Donald Trump in November

Biden will address a joint session of Congress to provide an annual update on the nation’s prosperity at a time when the United States faces numerous challenges at home and abroad.

Although inflation has fallen and unemployment is at a record low, only 27% of Americans rate the country’s current economic conditions as excellent or good, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January, The Guardian notes.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans call immigration the nation’s most important issue, and support for access to abortion is near an all-time high, even as dozens of Republican-led states have imposed severe restrictions on the procedure since Roe v. Wade was overturned. “

Biden simultaneously had to navigate the US response to military conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. The White House’s demands for Congress to approve increased funding for Ukraine have so far failed to produce results, and Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent call for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza does not appear to have moved negotiations between Israel and Hamas, The Guardian admits.

Ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address, his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said his remarks would focus on the president’s vision for the country’s future and his legislative accomplishments.

During the first two years of Biden’s presidency, when Democrats controlled the House and Senate, Congress was able to pass a number of major bills, including the American Rescue Plan, a bipartisan infrastructure bill, and the Inflation Relief Act.

“This is a president who has done more in three years than most presidents do in two terms,” Jean-Pierre said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday. “You’ll hear him talk about it.” You’ll hear him talk about the future, how he sees the future of the American people.”

But the current divided Congress, in which Republicans control the House of Representatives, has historically been unproductive, The Guardian emphasizes. As Congress has stumbled, Americans’ views of Biden’s performance have also suffered. Biden’s approval rating is now just 38.1%, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average, and polls show him neck-and-neck with Trump in the presidential race.

Biden’s State of the Union address comes a day after Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining challenger in the Republican presidential primary, dropped out of the race after her disappointing performance on Super Tuesday. With Trump as their presumptive nominee, Republicans appear keen to highlight Biden’s unpopularity and widespread concerns about the 81-year-old president’s age.

According to an NBC News poll conducted in January, 76% of US voters said they had concerns that Biden does not have the necessary mental and physical health for a second term, while 48% said the same about 77 -year-old Trump.

“The numbers don’t lie—Americans know the state is weaker because of Joe Biden,” Ronna McDaniel, the outgoing chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said Wednesday. “Voters don’t want Biden to ‘finish the job,’ which is why this will be his last State of the Union address.”

Republicans selected Sen. Kathy Britt of Alabama, the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the upper chamber, to deliver the party’s official response to the president’s remarks.

As with previous State of the Union addresses, the White House and members of Congress had the opportunity to invite guests to the event, and they used those invitations to communicate their policy priorities.

First lady Jill Biden invited Kate Cox, who made headlines in December when she fled Texas to get abortion care after she was denied access to the procedure in her home state. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., announced that his guest would be Elizabeth Carr, the first person born through in vitro fertilization in the United States. The invitation comes after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that said frozen embryos were legally considered to be children’s embryos, threatening access to IVF in the state.